Treyger Invites Residents To Testify In Favor Of Landmarking Coney Island Boardwalk

Treyger Invites Residents To Testify In Favor Of Landmarking Coney Island Boardwalk
Source: blhphotography via Flickr
Source: blhphotography via Flickr

City Councilman Mark Treyger is urging New Yorkers, and especially southern Brooklyn residents, to turn out at a City Council hearing next week and show their support for his resolution to landmark Coney Island’s Riegelmann Boardwalk.

Treyger has long advocated for the Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC) to grant the designation to the 93-year-old walkway in order to push back against the city’s effort to rip up the wood planks and replace them with recycled materials and concrete. In February, Treyger and Councilman Chaim Deutsch introduced the resolution, signed by all but one of the councilmembers, asking the LPC to officially recognize the boardwalks historical value.

“Not only is the Boardwalk one of Southern Brooklyn’s most significant destinations; it is a New York icon, too,” Treyger said in a press release. “New Yorkers and visitors from across the globe have been making memories along the Boardwalk’s 2.7 miles of wooden planks for nearly a century, and we must ensure that people can continue to create more memories on those same wooden planks going forward.”

Treyger is also encouraging people to post their favorite boardwalk memories and photographs on social media using the hashtag #LandmarkTheBoardwalk in order to put pressure in the LPC to act. Currently, the city needs no approval to make changes to the boardwalk. Landmark status would change that.

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, May 4, at 11am in the Council Committee Room at City Hall.

“The landmarking process in this city needs to be an equitable process, because the history and tradition of all of our city’s neighborhoods must be preserved. Too much has been lost already,” Treyger said. “Testify at this hearing and make sure the city administration and the Landmarks Preservation Commission know how much the Boardwalk means to you and to our city.”